How they did it is not just the standalone stores or stripmall locations. Subway has gotten creative in their franchising and opened outlets in automobile showrooms, oneappliance stores, ferry terminals, even a riverboat in Germany.

But don't expect this to be the last stop for Subway.

Kanye West-isms: Proclaims Himself the Next "Steve Jobs"

According to the WSJ, the company wants to have its international locations exceed its domestic ones by 2020. That would give them more than 48,000 restaurants worldwide.

But that doesn't mean McDonald's is going quietly into the fast food night. McDonald's recently made an advertising shift away from burger-friendly Ronald McDonald to a more grown up campaign geared toward healthier options and coffees.

Still, the burger king is the leader when it comes to sales, with a reported $24 billion in revenue compared to just over $15 billion for Subway.